Chemicals

"Susan Swithers is no stranger to food industry criticism."

"Mice exposed to disinfectants in commercial-grade cleaning products took longer to get pregnant, had fewer pups and suffered more miscarriages and distressed fetuses, researchers reported today."

"Residents from a modest southeast Houston neighborhood pointed Sunday toward a lagoon of algae-covered water with a pungent chemical smell that filled the parking lot of an abandoned cleaning facility for chemical trucks. Only some weeds and a cyclone fence separate the facility from homes and a charter school."

"After a train crash in Paulsboro, N.J., a cloud of toxic gas sent 28 people to the hospital. Mantua Township resident Ronald Morris was among them."

"The chemical triclosan has been linked to cancer-cell growth and disrupted development in animals. Regulators are reviewing whether it’s safe to put in soap, cutting boards and toys. Consumer companies are phasing it out. Minnesota voted in May to ban it in many products. At the same time, millions of Americans are putting it in their mouths every day, by way of a top-selling toothpaste that uses the antibacterial chemical to head off gum disease -- Colgate-Palmolive Co.’s Total."

"Half of newborns in a Brooklyn-based study were exposed in the womb to triclosan, a germ-killing chemical widely used in consumer products, researchers reported today at an annual meeting of chemists."

"Formaldehyde is a human carcinogen, the National Research Council (NRC) says in a report released today. It upholds a federal classification of the chemical that industry has vigorously disputed."

"New testing shows low levels of a banned toxic chemical are still showing up in a variety of everyday products including paints, newspapers, magazines and cardboard food packaging."

"Toxic metal threatens marine life as it accumulates faster in shallow layers than in deep sea due to human activity"

"In part of the search to find ways to feed future populations, given the mounting impacts of extreme weather on traditional farming, many have begun to turn their attention to the ocean. Over the past four decades, aquaculture has grown rapidly, accounting for half of human-consumed seafood in 2011 and continuing at a 6 percent annual increase in production."